Pearl Jam - Gigaton: Review
is one of the legendary big 4 Seattle grunge bands of the 1990 who have released 11 studio albums up to this point. While the band is most famous for their early work in the 90's they have received a consistent stream of attention from the world of alternative rock radio, as the bands last two records have both been Billboard #1 hits. But it has been 7 years since the bands last record and a much longer time since they last had an album drop to large scale critical acclaim.
Review By Lavender:
Pearl Jam were a force to be reckoned with in the 90's where their first three albums are among the most classic grunge and rock albums of the decade. Since then the band has had records that hold onto their original sound as well as records that push into other directions but nothing has particularly stuck with me. Even later records that Pearl Jam fans insist are good have failed to click with me, so I didn't have very high expectations for this album. After I only enjoyed one of the three singles released in the lead up to the record my expectations were even lower, and for good reason.
While most of the songs on this record have great and terrible elements that equal out to just okay, there are a handful of songs that are all bad. Superblood Wolfmoon was the single that really had me worried with a bouncy instrumental that sounds like a Gwen Stefani song and Eddie Vedder trades out his typical demeanor for what sounds like a really weird Phil Collins impression. The track is an absolute mess that makes no sense and sounds like almost nothing else on this record thematically. Take The Long Way is another track that does nothing for me. The song has a super generic riff that sounds like something the Foo Fighters would do and that's before one of the weakest hooks on the entire project seals the deal for the song.
Who Ever Said is the opening track and I don't really get it either. It plays out as a jammy rock track that is super long winded and while I could see the song being good in the bands heyday, in 2020 it sounds dated and boring the entire time. The other track that does this length issue even worse is the records longest song Comes The Goes. The song is fine at points but at a lengthy six minutes there is nothing here that is worth it for that long.
Most of the songs here with few exceptions are tolerable tracks that have enjoyable features, as well as some major flaws. Dance Of The Clairvoyants is definitely better even though it is also super longwinded. Eddie is doing some Talking Heads style yelping at points on the song that are strange but there are also moments where the genuinely dancy elements of the track emerge. The final single Quick Escape is a song I have gone back and forth on as it sounds at first like a decent if a little bit dated grunge track but parts of it really rub me the wrong way. The soaring 70's blues rock melodies on the hook and terrible stagnant St. Anger drumming are both pretty annoying and the song ends up just okay. Never Destination is a super average and pretty generic sounding 90's rock revivalist track but the vocals tend to dip into absolute silliness at a few points on the song for seemingly no reason.
Buckle Up and Alright are two ballads that have exactly the same problem. They introduce decent refrains but do nothing with them at all and ride the songs to what sound like build-ups, only to end before there is any climax. For an example of how to do this right look at Seven O'Clock which features all the elements of an 80s heartrock ballad including the best vocal performance on the record and some blended keys that heighten the tracks instrumental palette. Finally it features a soaring epic hook that is both catchy and triumphant making for the best track of the bunch.
The strongest point in the albums tracklist is the finale where it produces back to back good songs for the only time. Retrograde is the better of the two and really should have been the closer. The track has a grand instrumental as well as a decent hook that helps it come off as a soaring folk rock tune that I quite enjoy. River Cross is the closing track and I like it as well. The track features some subtle organ sounds that make for great moments when the percussion rushes back in over the mix. The song has all the feel of a classic rock opera and the only thing I have against it is that it isn't nearly as anthemic as the song before it.
Review By Lavender:
Pearl Jam were a force to be reckoned with in the 90's where their first three albums are among the most classic grunge and rock albums of the decade. Since then the band has had records that hold onto their original sound as well as records that push into other directions but nothing has particularly stuck with me. Even later records that Pearl Jam fans insist are good have failed to click with me, so I didn't have very high expectations for this album. After I only enjoyed one of the three singles released in the lead up to the record my expectations were even lower, and for good reason.
While most of the songs on this record have great and terrible elements that equal out to just okay, there are a handful of songs that are all bad. Superblood Wolfmoon was the single that really had me worried with a bouncy instrumental that sounds like a Gwen Stefani song and Eddie Vedder trades out his typical demeanor for what sounds like a really weird Phil Collins impression. The track is an absolute mess that makes no sense and sounds like almost nothing else on this record thematically. Take The Long Way is another track that does nothing for me. The song has a super generic riff that sounds like something the Foo Fighters would do and that's before one of the weakest hooks on the entire project seals the deal for the song.
Who Ever Said is the opening track and I don't really get it either. It plays out as a jammy rock track that is super long winded and while I could see the song being good in the bands heyday, in 2020 it sounds dated and boring the entire time. The other track that does this length issue even worse is the records longest song Comes The Goes. The song is fine at points but at a lengthy six minutes there is nothing here that is worth it for that long.
Most of the songs here with few exceptions are tolerable tracks that have enjoyable features, as well as some major flaws. Dance Of The Clairvoyants is definitely better even though it is also super longwinded. Eddie is doing some Talking Heads style yelping at points on the song that are strange but there are also moments where the genuinely dancy elements of the track emerge. The final single Quick Escape is a song I have gone back and forth on as it sounds at first like a decent if a little bit dated grunge track but parts of it really rub me the wrong way. The soaring 70's blues rock melodies on the hook and terrible stagnant St. Anger drumming are both pretty annoying and the song ends up just okay. Never Destination is a super average and pretty generic sounding 90's rock revivalist track but the vocals tend to dip into absolute silliness at a few points on the song for seemingly no reason.
Buckle Up and Alright are two ballads that have exactly the same problem. They introduce decent refrains but do nothing with them at all and ride the songs to what sound like build-ups, only to end before there is any climax. For an example of how to do this right look at Seven O'Clock which features all the elements of an 80s heartrock ballad including the best vocal performance on the record and some blended keys that heighten the tracks instrumental palette. Finally it features a soaring epic hook that is both catchy and triumphant making for the best track of the bunch.
The strongest point in the albums tracklist is the finale where it produces back to back good songs for the only time. Retrograde is the better of the two and really should have been the closer. The track has a grand instrumental as well as a decent hook that helps it come off as a soaring folk rock tune that I quite enjoy. River Cross is the closing track and I like it as well. The track features some subtle organ sounds that make for great moments when the percussion rushes back in over the mix. The song has all the feel of a classic rock opera and the only thing I have against it is that it isn't nearly as anthemic as the song before it.
Gigaton is not the record that is going to bring Pearl Jam roaring back into the world of modern rock music, not even close. The album features as many strange sonic crossovers and long underwritten tunes as any of the bands maligned material of old. Unfortunately the record is just another one in a long line of disappointing inability to return to form for a once amazing grunge band who hasn't been the same since the genre fell out of favor. 4.5/10
For more rock music check out my review of The Strokes The New Abnormal here
